


bittersweet

by Luckless_Salmon



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, terrible parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:40:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29891607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckless_Salmon/pseuds/Luckless_Salmon
Summary: A birthday at six and another at twenty-six.---“You know what your papa told me to do to you, Go-Chan?” His mother inquired, voice warbling. She did not give him time to respond, pressing the plastic barrel of a familiar toy to his temple. “Bang, baby. Bang.”
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Akechi Goro's Mother, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 4
Kudos: 88





	bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Child abuse (emotional + one shove), bullying, mild sexual commentary by two CONSENTING adults in second half.

Today was June 2nd; it hadn’t been a very good day at school (the summer heat seemed to make the other kids particularly cruel) but Goro Akechi still found himself in a good mood. It was his sixth birthday and his mama had presented him with a present better than anything he could have imagined: his very own Featherman model gun, ‘Proof of Justice!’ It was something he had wanted for so long, something that had seemed so impossible, that he had been stunned into silence.

_“My little hero deserves a toy that is incredible as he is,”_ she had murmured, pressing kissing into his hair. _“A reminder that even if things are tough now, there are still things in life looking forward to.”_

Goro hardly thought himself worthy of such a gift when his mama needed so many things, but she had shushed his concerns. She wiped his face with a cool cloth before sending him off to school with the promise of a Featherman marathon and a cupcake when she returned from work.

Goro loved sweets, but his small family could rarely afford them; he often found himself watching his peers tear into their sweet rolls and Hi-Chews after school with a great deal of envy in his heart... but that’s what made today so special! He would be able to appreciate the dessert so much more since he almost never got such treats. Plus, mama would be home too, so they could share it while watching Featherman! Goro had never been to a movie, but he imagined that was what it was like. 

Upon entering their apartment, his eyes had immediately tracked to the cupcake sitting on the counter. The label read ‘Chocolate Buttercream’ (he was the best reader in his class) and had cute little balloons drawn on the top. Goro felt himself salivate at the sight, but pushed himself away. He told himself he would share his treat with his mama, and he would! 

Goro tried to distract himself by focusing on gently extracting his new toy from its box, then examining it in detail over and over. He adjusted the television so as to have it on the right channel for Featherman for when his mama got home, then went back to the model gun. Time felt as if it was passing slower than Goro had ever experienced in his six years of life. He dosed in and out, stomach grumbling.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the distinct sound of a key in the door had Goro stumbling to his feet. Although the was disoriented, he practically threw himself towards the person entering the apartment. “Mama!” 

“Knock it off Go-Chan, I’m not in the mood,” his mother muttered, intersecting his attempt for a hug and instead knocking him away. Surprised, Goro crumpled to the floor, ‘Proof of Justice’ skittering across the aged laminate.

It was one of those days. 

His mama completely breezed past him, ignoring his groan of discomfort. “You still haven’t eaten this?”

Glancing up, Goro saw his mother glaring daggers at his birthday cupcake. “Not yet, mama, I thought-“

“God, you are so ungrateful!” She hissed irritably, stalking over to pull Goro up by the collar of his school-uniform. “What, it isn’t good enough for you Go-Chan? You have a refined palette like your father?” 

A bit confused, Goro just stayed quiet. He hated when mama got like this. 

“I should have known you would turn out like him, every part of Shido is rotten to the core. This day, your existence, it’s all a reminder of that!” mama groaned, falling to kneel in front of Goro.

“You know what your papa told me to do to you, Go-Chan?” His mother inquired, voice warbling. She did not give him time to respond, pressing the plastic barrel of a familiar toy to his temple. “Bang, baby. Bang.” 

Goro bit his lip hard, trying to focus on the taste of iron filling his mouth rather than the tears prickling behind his eyeballs; the mantra ‘boys don’t cry’ had been practically drilled into his skull at this point, and he didn’t want to upset his mama anymore today. “O-oh.” 

She studied him for a long moment, burgundy eyes identical to his own taking in every detail of his face. “Maybe I should do it. It’d be a mess to clean up, but you are still pretty small and it sure as hell would garner a lot of sympathy. Shit, you’d probably be better off too, with how fucked up the world is.”

Switching his gnawing to the inside of his mouth seemed like a good idea at first, but turned out to be a poor decision when he bit straight through. The feeling of tearing off a piece of his own mangled cheek (he worried it almost constantly, an anxious child since birth) was a little shocking and caused a small hiccup to escape his mouth. Although Goro quickly moved to stifle the noise with a hand, his mama’s pretty pink lips still twisted into a sneer. “I’m sorry, mama.”

His mother sighed and allowed the model gun to drop to the floor, clearly irritated with his inability to stay quiet. Episodes like these were becoming more and more common as Goro got older, despite his efforts to be good. He was the smartest in his class, but it was never good enough. 

“Go to bed, Goro,” she muttered, using one of her sharp nails to wipe away some of the blood that had begun to pool on his chin. “I won’t be able to tolerate your face again until tomorrow.” 

“O-okay,” he stuttered out, turning on his heels to bolt for his futon. Their house was very small, but Goro was grateful to have his own bed. The mattress was getting to be too short for his entire body to fit on, but he was grateful that he no longer had to sleep in the same bed as mama; he felt less guilty when he didn’t have to be so close to her muffling her sobs into the threadbare sheets. 

“Thank you for the nice birthday, mama,” Goro called softly, not wanting to be branded as ungrateful; he had spent countless hours studying the ‘Proof of Justice’ in magazines and store windows, so having one of his own was a dream come true. His mama had gotten pretty skinny recently, so it seemed as if she had been skipping meals to save up for it on his behalf. 

After some time without a response, Goro felt his tummy twist painfully. It was probably a good thing he hadn’t eaten any cake earlier because he doubt he could have kept it down.

—

“What the hell are those?” Goro asked warily, staring at the pile of atrociously-vibrant, admittedly delicious smelling flapjacks on his kitchen table.

“They’re birthday pancakes!” Morgana practically cheered from his perch on the nearby couch. He looked far too pleased for Goro’s liking. “You know because you’re-“ 

“My pancake prince!” Akira finished just as excitedly, practically twirling in from the kitchen. He set a neatly wrapped box on the table beside Goro before swooping down to give his partner a big, sloppy kiss. “Who, tastes sweeter than any sugar and gets wetter than any syrup when-“ 

“Har-de-har-har,” Goro cut in, cheeks flushing . “The two of you are just so incredibly funny, I think I might just vomit.”

“Aw, no need to be shy honey, we know you are happy,” Akira cooed, sitting down in a chair conveniently placed right next to his fiancé (for totally innocent reasons). “Here, why don’t you open your present?”

Although he was indeed rather pleased, Goro grumbled a bit just for show before absolutely decimating the gifts outer wrapping. The garish colors within had Goro’s heart stuttering in his chest.

“A first edition ‘Proof of Justice,’” the brunet murmured, tracing a finger along the box’s familiar lettering. “These are practically impossible to find nowadays...” 

“I realized that after the fact,” Akira bemoaned, dramatically draping himself over the kitchen table. “Who would have guessed that dorky thing you whipped around in the Metaverse was so damn rare? Taba’ and I had to scour the forums- hey, why are you crying honey?” 

Having not noticed the fat tears rolling down his cheeks until Akira had mentioned it, Goro immediately shielded his face with the box. “I-I’m not crying, I’m fine. It’s allergies. Seasonal allergies.”

“Seasonal allergies, huh?” Akira murmured thoughtfully, sharing a look with Morgana. “Hm, okay, whatever you say, honey. It’s your day so I won’t argue.” 

Goro grumbled something under his breath, but Akira ignored him in order to fill up his own plate with pancakes. Eventually, the smell of sugary syrup and coffee drew Goro closer to Akira’s side, his burgundy eyes silently pleading to be fed. Akira, unable to say no to his fiancé, allowed Goro to climb into his lap. What followed was an hour of sticky kisses and soft murmurs.

(And Morgana fake gagging before slipping out the open window).

“I should make those for you every day,” Akira remarked once both had eaten their fill. His fingers were tracing along the ridges of Goro’s spine. “Imagine how big your butt would get eating pancakes every day.” 

Goro muttered crankily under his breath in response, but Akira didn’t miss the way his fiancé’s face flushed. They remained in a comfortable silence for some time, with Goro’s head nodding to rest against Akira’s shoulder. 

“Thank you for loving all of me, ‘Kira,” Goro drawled after some time, breath hot against Akira’s ear “both the good and the bad.”

“How could I do anything less?” replied lowly, “you can’t have the best chocolate without something bitter and something sweet.” 

Goro snorted. “You are the dorkiest person I’ve ever met.” 

“Yeah, says the guy who cried when he got his superhero gun back,” Akira countered, moving his fingers to jab beneath Goro’s ribs (his most ticklish area, the fiend!) “guess we’re perfect for one another, huh?”

After struggling to secure Akira’s hands somewhere far less treacherous (if you counted Goro’s own behind as ‘less treacherous’), the brunet hummed pleasantly. “Guess so.” 

Today was June 2nd and it had been a very good day.

**Author's Note:**

> Love the concept of a compassionate version of Akechi's mother, but also a non-compassionate one viewed through rose-tinted glasses. If you have a moment, let me know what you think!


End file.
